Housing Crisis and Horse Neglect
Apparently the housing crisis isn’t only affecting the lives of humans but of horses as well. Horse neglect has been steadily increasing since people have been forced out of their homes or just don’t have the money or land to take care of these beautiful yet expensive creatures. People are losing their jobs all over the country and they just can’t handle all of the financial responsibility of taking care of horse.
Housing Crisis and Increased Horse Neglect | Areas Hit Hard
This story is very prevalent in parts of California like Riverdale, Clovis, and Fresno where many people were laid off in the peak of the financial crisis. These areas were once prosperous and covered with grassy knolls where horses could grave, but now…
Animal-control officials say that when times were good, many people bought horses. When times got bad, they stopped paying for upkeep. The cost — often hundreds of dollars per month per horse — was too much.
“If you can’t afford to feed your family and pay your mortgage, you certainly can’t afford to feed your horse,” said Valerie Pringle, a Maryland-based equine protection specialist with the Humane Society of the United States.
Local animal control agencies, already struggling with shrinking staffs and budgets, are hard-pressed to care for the large animals.
Meanwhile, the price of hay continues to rise, doubling since last year to more than $20 per bale, and horses need regular dental and hoof care, vaccinations and veterinary checks.
You see if the housing crisis affected you and your family, you could very easily pick up and move to a rental property with your dog or cat. Just put them in your car and pay a small deposit on the rental property. However with a horse you don’t have that kind of option, hence the horse neglect that is occurring so often.
Housing Crisis and Increased Horse Neglect | They Need Help!
Once someone becomes a victim of the housing crisis and their horse neglect is recognized by either animal control or some other group, then the next step is to take the horse to the vet, where the recovery process takes a lot of time and money.
By the time horses get to a shelter, their health has frequently deteriorated to a point where extended veterinary care is needed to make them ready for new owners.
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About 60 horses have come under the shelter’s care since July 1, nearly double the number from July 1, 2010, to June 30, 2011, said SPCA spokeswoman Beth Caffrey. A normal year before 2010 was five or six horses, she said.
“We are being hit like crazy,” Caffrey said. “We have no budget for large animals.”
With thousands of dollars in added costs to care for horses, the shelter has put a veterinary hospital expansion and stray dog and cat building addition on hold, she said.
Donating to these vet clinics could really help to assure that these horse neglect cases are dealt with properly and that the horses that came from these housing crisis families are given the proper medical attention.
“Our phone calls have quadrupled in the last six months,” she said.
Beth DeCaprio, who operates Grace Foundation, a large-animal rescue agency near Sacramento,has 160 horses. Last year, it had half that. Grace Foundation takes horses from across Northern California; 56 are from a Lassen County ranch and include 20 pregnant females.
“We are in an absolute crisis situation,” she said. “We used to get two or three calls a month. Now, we average about 20 calls a week.”
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